Off the Wall

Despite the best - or worst - efforts of the Rabbitohs management and the NRL, the focus today is surely on as intriguing a first week of finals football as we have seen in many a year.

And sadly, the focus is going to be back on the Rabbitohs at the start of round two given that both the coach and a departing player have been given "show cause" notices which they have to respond to by next Tuesday.

But not even that saga, which again proves beyond any doubt the NRL's way of dealing with off field matters is woefully inadequate, will draw attention away from four games that should do the greatest game of all justice.

Tonight it's the 2008 grand final replay. Then tomorrow night it's the battle of the South Queensland teams, followed by last year's wooden spoon team up against the team which has turned it all around since its cast off its coach a few weeks ago. And the weekend will end with something special - the minor premiers up against the team containing the game's premier player.

That is just some of the intrigue...and then there is the vexed question of what influence referees decisions, and video referee